{"id":46668,"date":"2023-03-08T10:23:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T10:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/glosario-digital\/backup"},"modified":"2026-09-14T10:46:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T10:46:22","slug":"backup","status":"publish","type":"encyclopedia","link":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/backup","title":{"rendered":"Backup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/backup.jpg\" alt=\"Backup\" class=\"boxpad alignright\" style=\"margin-top:0\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" \/><strong>Definition:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Backup<\/strong> is a copy of data that allows information to be recovered when the originals are lost, damaged or changed unintentionally. The term also refers to the process of creating and retaining these copies.<\/p>\n<p>A backup can include files, databases, settings or entire systems. Its purpose is to provide a recoverable version of the information, rather than simply duplicating it elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n<h2>How a backup works<\/h2>\n<p>The process begins by selecting the data to protect. It is then copied to a storage destination and retained for a specified period. Backups can be performed manually or scheduled using backup <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/software\">software<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Frequency determines which versions will be available. If a backup runs every night, changes made after the latest copy could be lost if a failure occurs. Retention defines how long these versions are kept before they are replaced or deleted.<\/p>\n<p>For applications that continue running during a backup, consistency also matters. For example, copying the files of an active database separately can produce a set that does not represent a recoverable state. The application&#8217;s backup mechanisms allow this operation to be coordinated.<\/p>\n<h2>Types of backups<\/h2>\n<p>Full, incremental and differential backups differ in the data they store and the components required to restore it:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Full backup:<\/strong> includes all selected data. That copy alone is sufficient to recover that state, although creating it usually requires more time and space than copying only the changes.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Incremental backup:<\/strong> stores changes since the previous backup in the sequence. In a conventional scheme, restoration requires the initial full backup and the subsequent incremental backups up to the chosen point.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Differential backup:<\/strong> stores changes since the last full backup. Restoring a state requires that full backup and the corresponding differential backup.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For example, after a full backup on Sunday, a Tuesday incremental backup captures changes since Monday&#8217;s backup; a Tuesday differential backup includes changes since Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>These methods describe how data is selected, not where it is stored. Any of them can form part of a local, remote or combined strategy.<\/p>\n<h2>Where backups are stored<\/h2>\n<p>Common destinations include external drives, network storage systems, tapes and cloud services. Each option has different characteristics in terms of capacity, recovery speed, connectivity and administration.<\/p>\n<p>Storing a copy on the same drive as the originals does not protect against that drive failing. Similarly, multiple copies in a single building can be affected by the same fire or flood.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>3-2-1 rule<\/strong>, included in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.incibe.es\/empresas\/blog\/dia-mundial-del-backup-repasamos-importancia-las-copias-seguridad\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">INCIBE&#8217;s backup recommendations<\/a>, proposes keeping three copies of the information\u2014the original and two backups\u2014using two types of storage media and keeping one copy outside the primary location.<\/p>\n<p>Physical separation does not address every risk. A copy accessible with the same credentials as the original system can also be deleted or altered during an attack. Offline backups and immutable storage provide different protections: the former remain inaccessible over the network, while the latter restrict modification or deletion for a defined period.<\/p>\n<h2>Difference between backup, synchronization and archiving<\/h2>\n<p>Synchronization keeps information coordinated across locations. If a file is deleted or modified, that change can propagate to connected devices. A synchronized folder is therefore not, by itself, equivalent to a backup.<\/p>\n<p>Some synchronization services include version history and recovery of deleted files. These features can help recover data, but their scope depends on retention periods and the service&#8217;s terms.<\/p>\n<p>Archiving serves a different purpose: preserving information over the long term for reference, documentation or retention requirements. An archive may contain documents that are no longer in the working system; a backup is intended to recover data or restore a previous state.<\/p>\n<p>Redundancy, such as keeping multiple drives with the same information, does not replace a backup either. It may allow a system to continue operating after a hardware failure, but it does not necessarily retain versions from before an accidental deletion.<\/p>\n<h2>Restoring and checking backups<\/h2>\n<p>Restoration means recovering information from a backup. The operation can be limited to a single file or cover an application, a database or an entire system.<\/p>\n<p>A backup job completing without errors does not, by itself, prove that everything can be recovered. Restore tests check that copies are readable, contain the required data and can be used in the destination environment. They also help establish how long recovery takes.<\/p>\n<p>Encrypted backups require the keys needed to access them to be retained. Similarly, recovering an application may require settings and components in addition to its data files.<\/p>\n<p>A backup can help recovery from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/digital-glossary\/malware\">malware<\/a> attack, but it does not prevent infection or stop information from being stolen. The chosen copy must represent an appropriate state and be restored in an environment that is no longer compromised.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What a backup is, how full, incremental and differential copies work, where they are stored and how restoration is checked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":79491,"template":"","encyclopedia-tag":[1267],"class_list":["post-46668","encyclopedia","type-encyclopedia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","encyclopedia-tag-web-infrastructure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia\/46668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/encyclopedia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79491"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"encyclopedia-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.arimetrics.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/encyclopedia-tag?post=46668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}